The United States is widely known as a capitalistic society. Although the country has seen very few attempts to change from this economic structure on a national level, socialism has gained more attention in politics in recent years. Frustrated by the lack of civilian control over economic resources and the neglect from the federal government, the people are demanding socialism to be put in place as relief. While capitalism places the operation of society in the hands of the wealthy, socialism is an economic and societal concept that puts the management of resources and communities in the hands of the people. Socialism places an emphasis on collective freedom, self-determination and cooperative ownership.

This push-away from socialism by the federal government is very rooted in the country’s history of establishing capitalism as synonymous with democracy, a democracy that consistently neglects the economic needs of Black people. Black people have often leaned on socialist practices to stay afloat in hard economic times. During the Great Depression, many Black workers were laid off first and received no financial support from the government. They formed their own unions to provide themselves with financial income and used their organizations to fight for laborers’ rights. One of the most notable unions to be birthed from the Great Depression was the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, a labor union of socialist train porters that organized against their employers and gathered funding through membership. The formation of their socialism got them lynched in many states. 

This wave of anti-blackness continues to be the motivating force behind the push-away from socialism in U.S. politics. The country's embrace of capitalism has been comprised of racism, where the economy thrives on the oppression of Black folks. The United States economy gets a lot of its wealth from the profits of mass incarceration in government-run prisons, which mostly imprisons Black people and keeps them poor with the continuous financial charges distributed to inmates trying to meet their basic needs.


According to the Pew Research Center, Black people make up 12% of the United States population but 33% of the prison population. Black men have a 1 in 3 lifetime likelihood of being imprisoned. According to the Brookings Institution, after being released from prison, most formerly incarcerated folks who are employed barely have an income that puts them above the poverty line. Black women who are formerly incarcerated experience the highest rate of unemployment compared to other groups; many of them only receive part-time or occasional work if employed at all.

Federal government laws promise to protect Black people from discrimination but rarely provide any enforcement of these laws. There are Fair Housing acts, Equal Opportunity Employers and Equal and Integrated Schooling programs that promise to help the Black community, but Black people still occupy the lowest economic advantage to living stability and mobility. The State of Working America found that Black people are twice as likely to have zero or negative net worth. They also found that about 63% of Black children whose families were in poverty by income stayed in poverty as adults.

Even overseas, the United States has managed to defeat any attempts for Black people to build socialist movements. In an effort to impose democracy and gain control of countries through imperialism, the United States has threatened war on socialist countries of predominantly Black people that have rebuilt their society after years of colonialism and capitalism. For example, the U.S. government invaded Grenada in 1983 after its socialist leader Maurice Bishop was killed by military forces. U.S. forces intervened to establish “democracy” in what they saw as an unorganized regime. Then-President Ronald Reagan created a smear campaign against the country, citing the building of its airport, a socialist project by Bishop, as the beginnings of a dangerous war. 

Socialism has always been seen as a threat to the economic and political foundation of the United States. To be deemed a socialist by governmental figures is to be seen as idealistic and inexperienced, a concept that is able to persuade with words but have no basis in practice. Many politicians are steering clear from labeling themselves as a socialist. Senators Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren have explicitly stated that they are not socialists, and Trump has even declared that the United States will never be a socialist country. 

Instead, U.S. politics has used social programs as the new alternative for the country’s growing economic issues. The Green New Deal proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez features social programs that would provide a better living environment as a solution to climate change. In the 2020 presidential race, candidates have promised to incorporate universal social programs in their first year of office. Sen. Bernie Sanders has made his entire presidential campaign on a universal economic program to cancel student debt for all people. Sanders has gained popularity since his 2016 presidential run on socialism programs. 

Even still, social programs are not the same as socialism. Social programs still operate under the economic control of the government and its rich politicians rather than the people. Operating social programs under the government does not shift the power dynamics that capitalism puts in place. Social programs only make capitalism more bearable. Having social programs with the infiltration of the government still warrants neglect of Black people’s economic struggles. The majority of those who benefit from social programs are White people. In 2016, White people received more aid from Medicaid, SNAP and TANF than other demographics. Even though White people gain the most help from these social programs, Black people are demonized for having access to the same resources. 

Until the U.S. government can break down the capitalistic structure of its economy, Black people will continue to be exploited, ignored, dismissed and financially left behind. Socialism is one method of replacement that can take the power away from governmental control and put it into the hands of the people. Capitalism has allowed the country to thrive on power and hierarchy to extract wealth from its most vulnerable civilians. The push-away from socialism and other non-capitalistic economies have maintained capitalism’s dominance over Black bodies, labor and money. Without the embrace of socialism and other interdependent structures, racism will continue to prevail and keep Black people from truly thriving financially.